[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15647-15648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06061]



[[Page 15647]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-823-808]


Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation of Certain 
Cut-To-Length Carbon Steel Plate From Ukraine: Preliminary Results of 
2018-2019 Administrative Review

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is conducting an 
administrative review of the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping 
Investigation of Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from Ukraine 
(Agreement). We preliminarily find that signatory Ukrainian producers/
exporters Azovstal Iron & Steel Works (Azovstal) and Ilyich Iron and 
Steel Works (Ilyich), which are subsidiaries of Metinvest Holding LLC 
(Metinvest), and were individually examined in this review, are in 
compliance with the Agreement and that the Agreement is meeting the 
statutory requirements under sections 734(b) and (d) of the Tariff Act 
of 1930, as amended (the Act). The period of review (POR) is November 
1, 2018 through October 31, 2019.

DATES: Applicable March 24, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sally C. Gannon or Jill Buckles, 
Bilateral Agreements Unit, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0162 or (202) 
482-6230, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On September 29, 2008, Commerce signed an agreement with Ukrainian 
producers/exporters Azovstal, Ilyich, and OJSC Alchevsk Iron and Steel 
Works (Alchevsk) under section 734(b) of the Act, suspending the 
antidumping duty investigation of certain cut-to-length carbon steel 
plate (CTL plate).\1\ On November 27, 2019, domestic interested party 
Nucor Corporation (Nucor) submitted a request for an administrative 
review of the Agreement.\2\ On January 17, 2020, Commerce published in 
the Federal Register a notice initiating an administrative review of 
the Agreement.\3\ The period of review (POR) is November 1, 2018 
through October 31, 2019.
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    \1\ See Suspension of Antidumping Investigation: Certain Cut-to-
Length Carbon Steel Plate From Ukraine, 73 FR 57602 (October 3, 
2008) (Agreement).
    \2\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or 
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative 
Review, 84 FR 58690 (November 1, 2019); and Letter from Nucor, 
``Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from Ukraine: Request for 
Administrative Review,'' dated November 27, 2019.
    \3\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 85 FR 3014 (January 17, 2020).
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this administrative review, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\4\ The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document 
and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service 
System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/.
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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the 2018-2019 Administrative Review of the Agreement 
Suspending the Antidumping Investigation of Certain Cut-to-Length 
Carbon Steel Plate from Ukraine,'' dated concurrently with and 
adopted by this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of Review

    For purposes of this Agreement, the products covered are hot-rolled 
iron and non-alloy steel universal mill plates (i.e., flat-rolled 
products rolled on four faces or in a closed box pass, of a width 
exceeding 150 mm but not exceeding 1250 mm and of a thickness of not 
less than 4 mm, not in coils and without patterns in relief), of 
rectangular shape, neither clad, plated nor coated with metal, whether 
or not painted, varnished, or coated with plastics or other nonmetallic 
substances; and certain iron and non-alloy steel flat-rolled products 
not in coils, of rectangular shape, hot-rolled, neither clad, plated, 
nor coated with metal, whether or not painted, varnished, or coated 
with plastics or other nonmetallic substances, 4.75 mm or more in 
thickness and of a width which exceeds 150 mm and measures at least 
twice the thickness. Included as subject merchandise in the Agreement 
are flat-rolled products of nonrectangular cross-section where such 
cross-section is achieved subsequent to the rolling process (i.e., 
products which have been ``worked after rolling'') for example, 
products which have been bevelled or rounded at the edges.
    This merchandise is currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTS) under item numbers 7208.40.3030, 
7208.40.3060, 7208.51.0030, 7208.51.0045, 7208.51.0060, 7208.52.0000, 
7208.53.0000, 7208.90.0000, 7210.70.3000, 7210.90.9000, 7211.13.0000, 
7211.14.0030, 7211.14.0045, 7211.90.0000, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, 
and 7212.50.0000. Although the HTS subheadings are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope 
of the Agreement is dispositive. Specifically excluded from subject 
merchandise within the scope of the Agreement is grade X-70 plate.

Methodology and Preliminary Results

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(C) of the Act, which specifies that Commerce shall ``review 
the current status of, and compliance with, any agreement by reason of 
which an investigation was suspended.'' In this case, Commerce and 
Ukrainian producers/exporters Azovstal, Ilyich, and Alchevsk signed the 
Agreement on September 29, 2008 under section 734(b) of the Act. 
Section 734(b) provides that Commerce may suspend an investigation if 
the exporters of the subject merchandise who account for substantially 
all of the imports of that merchandise agree to revise their prices to 
eliminate completely any amount by which the normal value (NV) of the 
merchandise which is the subject of the agreement exceeds the export 
price (or the constructed export price) of that merchandise. In 
addition, section 734(d) of the Act requires that Commerce be satisfied 
that suspension of the investigation is in the public interest and that 
effective monitoring of the agreement is practicable.
    Under sections C and D of the Agreement, a signatory producer/
exporter requesting NVs pursuant to the Agreement agrees not to sell 
its subject merchandise to any unaffiliated purchaser in the United 
States at prices that are less than the NV of the merchandise, as 
determined by Commerce based on the company's submitted sales and cost 
information. Azovstal and Ilyich are the only signatory producers/
exporters that requested, and for which Commerce calculated, NVs during 
the POR. Alchevsk made no such request for NVs during the POR. 
Therefore, for purposes of this administrative review, Commerce 
determined to individually examine, and issue a questionnaire to, 
Azovstal and Ilyich. Commerce discusses additional business proprietary 
details regarding Alchevsk in a separate

[[Page 15648]]

proprietary memorandum.\5\ After reviewing the information submitted in 
its initial and supplemental questionnaire responses, we preliminarily 
find Azovstal and Ilyich, collectively participating as Metinvest, to 
be in compliance with the terms of the Agreement during the POR. A 
review of the information submitted demonstrates that, pursuant to 
sections D(1) and D(2) of the Agreement, Metinvest reported to Commerce 
the sales and data required by the Agreement for calculation of the 
NVs. Therefore, Commerce preliminary finds Metinvest to be in 
compliance with the monitoring sections D(1) and D(2) of the Agreement 
and that the Agreement continues to meet the statutory requirement, 
pursuant to section 734(d)(2) of the Act of being able to be 
effectively monitored.
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    \5\ See Memorandum, ``2018-2019 Administrative Review of the 
Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation of Certain Cut-
to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from Ukraine: Preliminary Analysis 
Proprietary Memorandum,'' dated concurrently with and adopted by 
this notice.
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    Metinvest, in its initial questionnaire response, describes how it 
ensures compliance with the Agreement's pricing terms and the relevant 
NV period in making sales directly to unaffiliated U.S. customers and 
in arranging shipment to the United States.\6\ A review of the 
information in the initial and supplemental questionnaire responses 
finds no evidence of non-compliance by Metinvest with respect to 
ensuring that subject merchandise is sold in the United States at 
prices that are at or above the applicable NV determined by Commerce. 
Therefore, Commerce preliminarily finds that the Agreement is 
continuing to meet the statutory requirements section of section 734(b) 
of the Act.
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    \6\ See Metinvest's Letter, ``Sections A, B, and C Initial 
Questionnaire Response,'' dated March 5, 2020 at 19.
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    With regard to the requirements of 734(d) of the Act, Commerce 
preliminarily finds that the Agreement continues to be in the public 
interest and that effective monitoring of the Agreement continues to be 
practicable. As Commerce preliminarily finds no evidence during the POR 
that Metinvest made sales of subject merchandise below the applicable 
NV, Commerce preliminarily finds that the Agreement continues to 
benefit U.S. producers by ensuring that imports of the subject 
merchandise are fairly traded and are not, therefore, negatively 
impacting the competitiveness of the domestic industry. Moreover, as 
Commerce preliminarily finds no evidence of non-compliance by Metinvest 
with the Agreement's extensive information reporting requirements, 
Commerce preliminarily finds that effective monitoring of the Agreement 
continues to be practicable. In addition, in the context of this 
administrative review, no party has alleged that the Agreement is no 
longer in the public interest or that the Agreement can no longer be 
effectively monitored. Accordingly, and in light of our preliminary 
finding that the respondents are in compliance with the statutory 
requirements of the Agreement, we preliminarily find that the Agreement 
continues to meet the criteria of sections 734(b) and (d) of the Act.

Public Comment

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii), interested parties may submit 
case briefs not later than 30 days after the date of publication of 
this notice. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case 
briefs, may be filed not later than seven days after the date for 
filing case briefs.\7\ Parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal 
briefs in this proceeding are encouraged to provide: (1) A statement of 
the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of 
authorities.\8\ All briefs must be filed electronically using ACCESS. 
An electronically filed document must be received successfully in its 
entirety by the established deadline. Note that Commerce has 
temporarily modified certain of its requirements for serving documents 
containing business proprietary information, until further notice.\9\
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    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Temporary Rule Modifying AD/
CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID19; Extension of Effective 
Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020) (Temporary Rule).
    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
    \9\ See Temporary Rule.
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing must submit a written request filed electronically 
via ACCESS within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. 
Requests should contain: (1) The party's name, address and telephone 
number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of issues to be 
discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those raised 
in the respective case briefs. If a request for a hearing is made, 
parties will be notified of the time and date for the hearing.\10\ 
Commerce intends to issue the final results of this administrative 
review, including the results of its analysis of the issues raised in 
any written briefs, not later than 120 days after the date of 
publication of this notice, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the 
Act.
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    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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    These preliminary results of review are being issued and published 
in accordance with sections 751(a)(l) and 777(i)(l) of the Act and 19 
CFR 351.213.

    Dated: March 18, 2021.
Christian Marsh,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2021-06061 Filed 3-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P